American Time magazine, one of the world's most authoritative publications, visited Ukraine's national team training camp in Slovenia and produced a powerful piece on the situation within our national squad.

"There is no hate, only anger," — says Oleksandr Petrakov, head coach of Ukraine's national team about his feelings towards Russians who are ravaging his homeland. We visited Petrakov's room and office at the famous Brdo resort located near the slopes of Slovenia’s Alps. The coffee table is covered with stopwatches and notebooks filled with tactical diagrams. It is here that the 64-year-old coach, with steely eyes, works with his players during training camp, preparing the team for the 2022 World Cup playoff match.

Players of Ukraine's national team, of course, will not take up arms, although this was Petrakov’s first impulse when bombs began falling around his house in Kyiv on February 24th.

"It would have been wrong if I fled from my city where I was born. But they told me: 'You are too old and have no military experience. Instead, you should lead the national team to the World Cup,'— Petrakov recounts.

Photo by press service of UAF

This mission Petrakov took on with all seriousness. Since hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have taken up arms to fight Putin's occupiers, the responsibility placed on his players is immense: to boost the morale of the nation, earn money for Ukrainian soldiers through charity matches abroad and, most importantly, affirm Ukraine’s sovereignty by securing a spot at the World Cup in Qatar. To do this, they must defeat Scotland in Glasgow on June 1st, then four days later Wales in Cardiff.

"This is a huge responsibility. I feel it more and more as the match with Scotland approaches. Many of our supporters are soldiers of Ukraine's army," — Petrakov emphasizes. Many Ukrainian players considered joining the military, but ultimately decided that they could help the troops more by playing on the field. When the war began, defensive midfielder Taras Stepanenko took his wife and three sons (4, 6, and 8 years old) down to the basement of their Kyiv home for three days, listening to the sound of rockets. The thought still makes him shudder.

"Rockets fell every day. I just had to tell my boys not to worry, it was far away," — Stepanenko said.

"We have to fight to live our normal lives, we have to fight for the right to be part of the world community," — says Ukrainian defender Oleksandr Karavaev.

"At Scotland's Hampden Park stadium there will be an incredible atmosphere, but after rockets and bombs, we fear nothing," — Petrakov insists.

This bold statement would lose much of its power without a victory over Scotland. Successful results in three recent friendly matches against club teams from Germany, Italy, and Croatia have strengthened Ukraine's national team’s confidence. However, despite such impressive form, Petrakov says that these matches cannot compare to the harshness of official games, which Ukraine has not played since November. Players on Scotland's side, conversely, are approaching the end of their club seasons and should be in top form,— writes Time.

Recall that the 2022 World Cup playoff semi-final match between Scotland and Ukraine will take place on June 1st at Hampden Park stadium in Glasgow (9:45 PM).